Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 381 Gachapon
Since things had already come to this point, Zheng Fan decided to accompany them on their shopping and sightseeing trip.

This place should have been a famous tourist attraction, but at this time of year, even the most popular tourist spots are hard to find.

In the past, the huge landmark of Saint-Mount would have been packed with people taking photos. But now, the entire venue is empty except for a few members of the monastery band.

The once bustling area is now a scene of devastation, with even the plaza yet to be repaired.

Naturally, there are many other places that need repair even more than this square.

People strolled around Shengmu Town, but not many shops were still open, as they were unable to continue operating at this time for various reasons.

“A sense of desolation.” Doris looked at the once bustling commercial building in the distance, now with shattered glass and warning signs reading “Pedestrians please be careful” posted all over the streets below.

“We’ll be back in normal Saintwood Town soon after things recover, and you can come back anytime then. But we might only get to see the desolate Saintwood Town for a short time, which is an extremely rare experience,” Zheng Fan said, not feeling any regret about the scene.

“That’s not entirely wrong, but hopefully there will be fewer scenes like this, built on the foundation of disaster, in the future,” Doris said, her eyes slightly lowered.

Zheng Fan glanced at Doris: "Little Sheep seems to be in a bad mood lately."

Actually, it's not "recently," but rather ever since the tour started.

She was happy that her music and the band she was with could become famous and provide spiritual support to refugees, but she was also saddened from time to time.

Doris said, "I thought I was no longer moved by tragedies, big or small, after all, we've been through this all along."

As she spoke, she looked at her companions walking ahead.

Tao Zhi was taking pictures everywhere and kept talking incessantly, Mora would occasionally make a few sarcastic remarks, and Gao Song didn't talk much, but when he did, it was either popularizing obscure scientific knowledge or overflowing with unreliable humor.

In the monasteries of the past, they could hardly have imagined that one day they could walk so easily on the streets of the capital, chatting and laughing with each other, embarking on a journey of their own.

But when they emerged from their suffering and returned to Dadu, they discovered that the suffering there was even more complex and diverse.

"That's probably why we started the tour in the first place," Zheng Fan said.

Doris nodded gently: "After returning from Jiangwen Street, I felt that I could also do something for others. The purpose of music is diverse, isn't it? At first, I just wanted to vent my feelings, but after forming a band, I had more pursuits, and gradually my desires kept rising, and I wanted more..."

“This is normal, and it’s correct for people,” Zheng Fan affirmed. “Unchanging is a precious quality, but change is also the law of things. Recognizing yourself and proving yourself again in the midst of change is also a process in life. Little Sheep, you are standing here because of ‘love.’ Whether it’s feeling sad for others or becoming someone’s spiritual support, what you are doing is beyond doubt.”

The first monster of the monastery, and the seed of "love" that ended the monastery, are contradictory yet the same.

Doris looked at Zheng Fan and said earnestly, "In this process, Mr. Music, you are very important to me."

“Then of course I’m very important,” Zheng Fan replied without any psychological burden.

Instead, after staring at each other for a moment, the little lamb inexplicably felt its face burning and lowered its head, even though it was a cold day.

After walking around Shengmu Town for a while, the number of people around gradually increased, adding a bit of liveliness to this bustling "holy land" and dispelling some of the desolate atmosphere.

Zheng Fan stopped in front of a shop with a Japanese anime-style design.

"Is Mr. Music interested in these?" Doris immediately noticed Zheng Fan's lagging behind and asked.

"I'll look at it when I'm bored to pass the time. I was quite enthusiastic about it for a while, but even if I'm not interested anymore, I'll still be interested in some well-made merchandise." Zheng replied, pointing to the posters pasted on the glass next to the shop.

“Kuku Comics?” Doris searched her memory. “I remember it was a very famous comic book magazine.”

"I really miss it. I enjoyed reading it before I was taken to the monastery, and I would secretly save up money for a long time to buy it myself. But because kids save money too slowly, I couldn't keep up with the serialization at all." Gao Song turned around and couldn't help but recount his memories.

Mora was somewhat surprised: "You actually had such a time? And you remember it so clearly."

"There's nothing memorable about the monastery, so naturally we can only polish the valuable parts of the past." Gao Song is like an artistic youth, and in fact, that's his demeanor when he's not performing crosstalk.

Zheng Fan pointed to an owl on the poster and said, "Jiang Si likes this one. It's a classic character and quite popular."

"Oh, Mr. Music, would you like to buy some merchandise for Miss Jiang Si?" Doris asked, also thinking of that unique serial killer she had met twice but never spoken to.

"I don't really intend to buy anything, but I do want that limited edition gashapon." Zheng Fan looked at the rows of gashapon machines in the store. He always felt that it was quite a sight to see similar stores.

However, he had never tried it before, not even once in his life.

"Shall we give it a try?" Doris suggested. Zheng nodded in agreement.

Doris immediately told her friends about the gashapon toys, and they all curiously went into the shop.

The shop's decor wasn't very new, but it was cleaned very well, probably after the earthquake. The items were generally well-organized and varied.

It was clearly an old establishment. The middle-aged man at the front desk, who had been dozing off at midday, opened his eyes at the sound of sparse footsteps. He was somewhat surprised but instinctively greeted them, "Welcome."

"Do you still have this in the gashapon?" Because she didn't know much about gashapon, Doris honestly pointed to "Mr. Blachu" on the poster and asked.

“Oh! Mr. Blachu.” The shopkeeper suddenly realized, and was no longer surprised when this was mentioned. “Of course, a few months ago, during the anniversary celebration of Kuku Manga, there were a lot of promotional items featuring classic characters. But shortly after the event started, there was an earthquake, and a large number of products became unsaleable.”

“That’s really…”

"The gashapon toys are over there, the ones with the same design as the poster. Originally, you needed to participate in their events to get a chance to get one, but now it's the same as a regular gashapon toy," the shopkeeper pointed out.

"Thank you." The lamb was polite and well-behaved, and with that pretty face, most people wouldn't dislike it.

Everyone gathered around the gashapon machine.

Zheng Fan stuck his head inside, and the scene looked quite bizarre from Doris's perspective.

"Looking at it this way, we can't really predict what will come out, can we?" Doris tugged at Zheng Fan's clothes.

Gao Song glanced at the explanation next to him and said, "Mr. Blachu is just a supporting character in the comic from which it comes. Although he is very popular, he is not considered a high-level character in this event. He is not a rare grand prize, so it should not be difficult to win him."

"...Your words give me a bad feeling," Mora said abruptly.

"Only if you say that will the ominous premonition actually appear," Gao Song shifted the blame back.

Enough talk, let's get started.

The ominous premonition came true.

After the four of them took turns drawing once, Mora and Tao Zhi drew ordinary items that they didn't recognize, while Gao Song drew Mr. Blacho—the protagonist of that work, a rabbit, which was of much higher quality than Mr. Blacho, but it wasn't what he wanted.

Gao Song himself had no expression, but he was incredibly fast at putting the items into his pocket.

Doris looked at the Kuku Man family photo in her hand: "It's a pity, it's not."

"No, isn't yours the highest prize?" Zheng asked in surprise after comparing the two sides repeatedly.

"Really?" Doris asked, bewildered.

"The secondary market price could buy ten Mr. Blachus," Gao Song said, holding up his phone.

"How the hell do you know how to check prices so professionally?" Mora's sarcastic remark came at just the right time, but then she turned to do the same, "Doris has always been very lucky."

"I don't know, but let's continue if we don't draw it." Doris smiled slightly and handed the item to Gao Song, very naturally, probably because Gao Song was too professional.

Ding-dong-

No one inserted a coin, but then the sound of coins being inserted could be heard.

Doris turned her head and saw Zheng Fan standing in front of the gashapon machine. He turned back and said, "Could you turn it for me?"

Yes, this round isn't over yet, and there are five of them!
Doris had no objection and stepped forward to turn the knob.

The sound of the gashapon capsule rolling out could be heard.

Zheng Fan crossed his arms nonchalantly and said, "Although it sounds like I'm bragging, my luck has never been too bad."

Doris picked up the gashapon capsule and opened it.

The black owl is under control.

(End of this chapter)